


Not easy

by bunnysworld



Series: Bonded to magic [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bonding, Druids, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 15:04:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20360512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: Merlin thought they just had a rocky start. But living in the village with Arthur doesn't get easier.





	Not easy

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Rocky Start](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19997890) I doubt it makes sense to read this without knowing the first part. 
> 
> Not beta'd.

On days like these, Merlin wanted to get out and away as far as possible. How could the elders have done that to him? He was the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth, so why didn't they let him chose his mate on his own? But no, politics had demanded that he got bonded to the crown prince of Camelot and now he was stuck with him. 

"I am not doing this." Arthur shook his head. 

"Yes, you are. You have to if you want to earn the respect of the people." Merlin tried to stay calm. 

"I can teach them how to shoot a wild boar, but I'm not going to gut it, too, and be part of this silly ceremony." 

Taking a deep breath, Merlin tried to keep it together, but failed. "Why? Is it beneath you? Alright, you may have shot the boar, but if you're not willing to help gut it and pay respect to its spirit, you're not going to eat either." He had no idea if he could do this, if he had the right to keep food away from anyone, but it made him so angry that Arthur disrespected everything that meant so much. 

"You're forgetting who I am." Arthur had gotten up and now they stood face to face. 

"I think that's what you have forgotten. You are my bonded, which gives you a certain status here, but that doesn't mean you are above everyone else. You will take part in the ceremony and you will help with the preparations." Merlin shivered. He felt his magic boiling underneath his skin and would have loved to zap Arthur with it. Just a little. 

"This bonding means nothing. It's just a meaningless pagan ritual. I could leave any time I wanted. I'm just staying out of goodwill and to teach you people how to deal with nobility."

The look in Arthur's eyes showed that he knew that wasn't true. Once in a while, King Uther sent some knights to check on Arthur and bring orders that he stayed for as long as it would take. Merlin knew, he had spoken to some of the knights and Leon, who had accompanied Arthur here for their bonding, was still around. He seemed to have adjusted to the simple life of the village a lot better than Arthur, though. 

For some weird reason, it also stung that Arthur said their bond meant nothing. Neither of them had wanted it, they weren't here because of choices they had made but simply because of who they were. Still, Merlin had hoped they had gotten beyond that point of hostile strangeness a while ago. 

After their first awkward meeting, that had taken place mere hours before the ceremony, they had tried to be civil and Merlin had given his best to enjoy the festivities and to make his newly bonded feel welcome. It hadn't been easy as contempt had radiated from Arthur's every pore. Later, when they had been alone, he could see that it wasn't only snobbish supremacy that made Arthur act that way, but fear. Arthur was scared and tried to cover that up with snarling and rudeness. Who could blame him? He was in an environment he didn't know, surrounded by people he had never met, expected to do things he never had tried or never had heard of. 

That first night, they had just talked until they had fallen asleep in the early hours of morning - Arthur on the bed, Merlin on a blanket next to the bed. Merlin had tried to imagine what it was like where Arthur came from. He couldn't picture a lot of things as he had difficulties wrapping his head around the idea of living in a place that had more than one room. 

The next couple of days, nobody bothered them, so Merlin had taken Arthur to his favorite places around the village to show him how he had grown up. It seemed that Arthur relaxed a bit when the village was out of sight, but he still kept his distance. 

They had gone fishing and he had tried to show Arthur which herbs to collect and sometimes they just sat at a nice spot, talking or enjoying the sounds of the forest around them. 

And then Merlin had seen Arthur shy away when he lit a fire with magic. He'd never seen anyone react like that. 

"You have magic." Arthur swallowed. 

Merlin frowned. "I don't have magic, Arthur. I am magic." 

"Where's the difference?" Arthur scrambled away and reached for where his sword usually was, only that he didn't carry it now. 

It made Merlin sad to see him react that way. "Some people have a bit of magic. They can draw on it and practice their skills. I don't have to, it's always been there and I could always use it."

"So you're even more dangerous."

Merlin shook his head. "Magic isn't dangerous."

"Oh yes, it is." 

"Do I seem dangerous to you? I just want the best for my people and would only use my magic to protect them."

"But you could kill someone with it." Arthur still looked at him with big eyes.

Merlin shrugged. "Let's hope it never has to come to that." He couldn't deny it. If he wanted to, he could kill someone with his magic. But that wasn't who he was. He might not always have made the right decissions, but he always liked discussing issues a lot better than taking harsh action. 

They sat in silence for a while as Merlin prepared the fish they had caught and put it on sticks over the fire. 

"So you are who they say you are." Arthur said into the silence. 

Merlin smiled. "Who do they say am I?"

"The greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth?" There was a bit of wonder in Arthur's voice. 

Shrugging, Merlin turned the sticks with the fish. "I don't know about that."

"Have you ever met anyone more powerful than you?" Arthur scooted a bit closer again.

"Not yet." Merlin grinned. It was weird to himself. He was just the odd boy from the village, skinny, almost scrawny, his limbs not cooperating a lot of times. He wasn't good at hunting, he wasn't good at fighting, he wasn't even a decent farmer. And yet he had never met anyone with greater powers than his. 

After a while it seemed that Arthur had come to terms with him being magic. At least, he never asked about it again and never mentioned it when he was made to witness Merlin doing magic in rituals or ceremonies. 

Merlin had hoped that living in the village would make Arthur see that the villagers were normal people and the druids that came and went were no harm, but some days, Arthur was just a prat. He was lazy and demanded people doing things for him that he could do himself and on other occassions, he just didn't know how to do things and refused to learn as he saw it beneath him. 

They had shouting matches more than once. Sometimes over the most simple things like making the bed. After a few nights on the floor, Merlin had decided it was time to share the bed, if only for him to be a bit more comfortable. It had been a very weird first night, both of them trying not to touch the other, almost tumbling out of the small bed in their haste to stay to the edge as far as possible. About a week later, Merlin mentioned that it was Arthur's turn to make the bed. 

"Why?"

"Because a neatly made bed is something to look forward to in the evening."

"You made the bed before." Arthur seemed very busy putting on his boots. 

Merlin turned. "I'm not your manservant. If we want this to work, we have to split the chores. I did it yesterday, you'll do it today."

"You could just magic it?"

"I could, but I won't. Magic is not to be used for profanities like this." This was something his mam had taught him when he was very little and she was right. Magic was only to be used for meaningful things. 

"And now you expect me to make a bed?"

"Not just a bed, our bed. You lie in it, too."

"Well, then we can lie in it tonight the way it is."

Merlin had snapped and there was shouting and yelling and name-calling and in the end, he had made the bed together with Arthur, as it seemed he had no idea how to even do it. 

It was like that with a lot of things. Arthur had never worked on a field in his entire life and didn't know when or how to feed the chicken. Which wasn't a crime in itself, but he refused to learn it as 'I am the crown prince of Camelot'. 

He wasn't always an arse, though. Sometimes, it was really nice to sit with him and listen to him talk about horses or the training he had gotten in sword-fighting and hunting. Some nights, they just sat by the fire and Merlin couldn't help throwing him looks. Arthur's blond hair seemed to shine golden in the firelight and when he caught him unaware, Arthur looked so young and vulnerable. Merlin couldn't help it, he started to have feelings for him. 

When he didn't flash his 'I am...' side, like he did now. Merlin had hoped that a little hunting trip would lift Arthur's mood a bit. He could spend time with the other villagers and show off his skills, which would earn him the respect of the people. So far, they weren't impressed with the latest addition and some already whispered about the elders making the wrong choice.

It looked as if Arthur enjoyed the hunting and was proud that they brought down a huge wild boar that would feed the entire village for a week. Hunting just didn't end at killing the animal. The animal's spirit had to be thanked and released and the gods calmed in various rituals that Merlin had to get ready for. 

"I don't care if you think our bonds means nothing," he said icily. "and I don't care about who you were in a former life. But I do care about the druid ways and I do care about the people of this village. You need to finally start seeing what you are now. You are my bonded and as such it is your duty to participate and pay respect to the gods."

At the word 'duty', Arthur flinched. "They are not my gods."

"They are gods nevertheless and you will respect them." Merlin pulled himself up to his full height. "Now go, prepare the feast with the others." 

Some days, he was close to kissing Arthur. Today, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to. 

"And what are you going to do, huh? Wait until everything is ready for you to just come over and eat?"

"I have to prepare for the ritual. You will see me again there. Now go."

Merlin's heart was beating wildly. How could they reunite the lands if they couldn't even agree on the simple things? He didn't want to fight Arthur, he wanted to do this with Arthur. As long as Arthur didn't see the importance, though, it would be a struggle. 

Leon picked that very moment to show up in the door. "Arthur? Everyone's waiting for you. As the one who brought the boar down, you have to be there when we prepare it."

Reluctantly, Arthur nodded once and then turned to leave with Leon. He threw a quick glance back over his shoulder. Merlin knew the fight wasn't over yet.

[The Horned God](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20427470)


End file.
